Sanyuan pursed his lips, staring longingly at Ye Wenxue, also wanting to do some work to lighten the burden on his mother, older brother, and older sister.
Siwang, even more emotional, lunged forward and hugged Ye Wenxue's leg:
"Mom, I want to work too! I'm really good at it!"
A smile appeared on Ye Wenxue's face.
Now she finally knew who Sanyuan had learned his self-recommendation line from when he was in the kitchen that day while rendering lard.
Ye Wenxue patted Siwang's head and thought for a moment:
"Sanyuan, let's find a place to dry the wood ear mushrooms and also dig up some wild vegetables. We haven't eaten fresh vegetables for quite a few days."
Sanyuan is very worry-free; they know which places you can go and which places you can't go without needing to be told much.
"As for Siwang..." This question stumped Ye Wenxue. She pondered for a moment, "You and Shuangshuang should clean up the cave together. Oh, and Sanyuan, remember to gather some wild grass to feed the geese and rabbits."
Siwang responded rather unhappily, his lips pouting.
He also wanted to go dig for wild vegetables!
Ye Wenxue could tell that each of these kids had their own little quirks.
I was just a little frightened a few days ago and didn't react for a moment, so I calmed down a bit.
Now that my anxiety has subsided considerably, my awkward personality has come out.
She didn't find it troublesome; after all, it's normal for kids to have little tempers.
Ye Wenxue smiled and asked, "How many kinds of wild vegetables do you recognize?"
Siwang was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously looked at Dazhuang and Sanyuan.
When they were in Shanqing Village, her mother went to town to work, while the two of them took care of Yuanyuan and stayed at home. It was Dazhuang and Sanyuan who took him to dig for wild vegetables.
Dazhuang and Sanyuan suppressed their laughter and looked away.
With a pained expression, Siwang started counting on his fingers: "Wild bamboo shoots, mushrooms, and more mushrooms... and more..."
He couldn't count anymore, so he gave up and buried his head in his hands:
"I'm still young. When I'm a few years older, I'll definitely recognize all kinds of wild vegetables!"
Everyone burst into laughter.
Even the geese couldn't help but squawk a few times.
Siwang kept a straight face, not wanting to pay attention to those who were mocking him.
Seeing his aggrieved expression, Ye Wenxue suppressed her smile and said, "Alright, you can go dig for wild vegetables too. Remember to learn from your third brother."
Siwang nodded solemnly, as if promising Ye Wenxue that he would study hard.
Those who had received their tasks dispersed.
Ye Wenxue and Dazhuang spent the entire afternoon clearing away the weeds and dead trees on the open space, planning to start building the house tomorrow.
As dusk approached, Ye Wenxue wiped the sweat from her face, told Dazhuang to rest a little longer, and then found an open space to build a stove.
Shuangshuang had already prepared a cave and moved all their belongings into it.
When Ye Wenxue went into the cave to get the iron pot and seasonings, Shuangshuang was spreading out the dry grass that Dazhuang had brought. They would lay a thin blanket on the dry grass at night and make do with it as a bed.
Ye Wenxue greeted them:
"Are you done? We're going out to eat later. Hurry up and come out after you've laid out the dry straw, don't go hungry."
His hands kept moving without him noticing, and he uttered a soft "Hey" without even looking up.
Ye Wenxue shook her head helplessly and went to the stove to start a fire.
The valley is spacious and has plenty of firewood such as dry grass and trees.
Ye Wenxue then lit two fires. One fire was used to cook rice in a ceramic pot on a stove, while the other fire, which had no stove, was intended for roasting snake meat.
She carried the severed head of the snake to the spring, quickly processed it, and then brought back a bucket of water.
They shaved another branch, skewered the snake meat, added a few more pieces of firewood, and started grilling.
Dazhuang couldn't stop for a moment.
While Ye Wenxue was cooking, he cleared some land by himself, then hurriedly brought firewood and searched the entire valley for Sanyuan and Siwang.
Sanyuan peeked out, carrying a worn-out bamboo basket: "Here I am, I'll be right there."
They couldn't help with the cooking for the time being.
Dazhuang and Siwang carried a burning piece of firewood to the cave for lighting, thinking of helping Shuangshuang.
Sanyuan then held up the bamboo basket for Ye Wenxue to see:
"Mom, can you tell me what wild vegetables we want to eat tonight? I'll go wash them."
Ye Wenxue turned the snake meat around so that the uncooked side was facing down, then took the bamboo basket and saw that it contained several kinds of wild vegetables that grow in summer, such as wild amaranth, shepherd's purse, and lichen.
But not many.
She thought for a moment: "I'll wash some amaranth and stir-fry it with the snake meat later to cut through the greasiness."
Sanyuan nodded, put down the bamboo basket, and focused on picking out the wild amaranth before taking it to the spring to wash.
Ye Wenxue used a dagger to make several cuts in the snake meat, so that the meat would be cooked more thoroughly.
Seeing that the roasted snake meat was almost done, she took out the only bottle of cumin powder she had in her space and sprinkled it on, then sprinkled some coarse salt on top.
With a sizzling sound, a stimulating aroma filled the air.
The three men in the cave exchanged glances, then decisively abandoned the unfinished layer of dry grass and scurried over to the stove.
Siwang sat on the ground, his eyes fixed on the snake meat.
The snake meat sizzled and dripped oil from the fire, with drops occasionally falling into the flames and sparks flying.
The aroma of caramel, cumin, and snake meat blended together, making one's mouth water.
"Gurgle."
Several pairs of eyes turned to Siwang, who was constantly swallowing his saliva.
Siwang lowered his head shyly, fiddling with his fingers, pretending that it wasn't him who had just spoken.
Ye Wenxue chuckled, sliced off a piece of thoroughly cooked snake meat, let it cool, and then placed it near Siwang's mouth:
"Eat quickly."
Siwang opened his little mouth and ate it with a gulp, his eyes shining as he looked at Ye Wenxue:
"Mmm... Mother, it's delicious!"
Dazhuang, Shuangshuang, and Sanyuan, who had just finished washing the amaranth, stared longingly at Ye Wenxue, waiting intently for her to feed them.
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